To Walk a Path
by Arcane Student
Summary: They are finally heading home. Liza takes a look around their small boat, seeing how everyone is coping after Rook Island. And she is especially concerned for Jason. Will she be able to help the young man come back from his experiences there? Rated M for use of strong language early on and a scene of poorly done medicine. Please read & review!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Far Cry 3, its characters, locations, plot, or other affiliated licenses, just the idea for this story.**

_We're going home._

Liza stood at the bow of the ship leading them away from the islands, back to the mainland. She still couldn't believe it was coming to an end. The weeks of capture, torment, and hiding were finally coming to an end. _Though not without loss_, she thought to herself.

Liza took a moment to scan the ship behind her. Daisy was at the helm, sailing them away from that Hell on Earth, concentration set on her face. Liza knew Daisy still felt pain at the death of Grant, but had held it back for the sake of the others. Speaking of which, where were they? She didn't see any from –

"OW! Do you even know what you're doing with – OW! Dammit, Oli, stop it!"

_Well, there's a few of them._ Liza walked around the wheelhouse to see Riley sitting on the floor, shirt off, with Keith supporting him from behind and Oliver standing in front of them with a pair of tweezers from an open first-aid kit.

Oliver had a small smile playing across his face, "Look dude, if you want this bullet out of your shoulder, you need to stay still while I rip it out."

"Rip it out?! It feels like you're trying to rip my entire heart out with those!" The indignation across Riley's face was clear, but fazed neither of the other men.

Keith decided then to chime in. "Look, Oliver, why don't you hand me those things and let me give it a shot. You've already tried twice."

"No way man, I've got this! Let's just see, I need to just move a little to the left, aaand…" Oliver paused. Liza started to worry a bit.

"'Aaand' what Oli?" Riley started to look a bit worried.

"Oh nothing, I have the bullet, but now I need to pull it out, and it's gonna hurt like a motherfucker. I'm gonna count to three and take it out, okay"

"Ugh, fine. Start your bloody countdown."

"Okay, ready? One-"

"ARGH!" And out came the bullet, along with a fairly colorful string of curses from Riley's mouth.

Keith sighed, "Jeez, would you just shut it and hold still while we bandage this?" He then moved to grab some gauze and disinfectant from the open kit.

Liza decided that they boys would be fine after all. _That only leaves… Jason._ Liza didn't see him on the deck, so she moved down into the cabin below. As she descended, she heard Riley scream again. _Probably from the disinfectant_, Liza thought. _Keith and Oliver are certainly no surgeons, but at least they're trying to help_.

As Liza walked into the cabin, she absentmindedly took a look at the provisions they had stocked away. _Enough for a few days. Hopefully we won't be out here any longer than that._

As she entered the bunk room, she scanned it to try and find their last member. She didn't notice at first, but a gleam of light revealed the second Brody brother sitting in the corner of one of the cots, legs pulled up and forehead resting on his knees, eyes staring into the distance. She hesitated for a second, unsure of how to proceed. Liza had been concerned for him their entire time on the Rook Islands, but every time she tried to tell him this, he had pushed her away. She had seen how she had grown and matured so much in those days, but at the same time, become distant from them. From her.

The following days were a blur of activity. Preparations for the boat, crying where no one would see her, being captured by the Rakyat and brought to the temple, discovering Riley was really alive, having Jason take a knife to her throat, and finally Jason saving them all. Again. They had loaded onto the boat and left as quickly as possible, not wanting the natives to try and come after them a second time.

That had been hours ago now. They were heading back to Bangkok, and hopefully to the States after that. But before they arrived, there was still the matter of Jason. Was he truly back with them? Was he truly back with her?

Liza finally shook from her reverie and looked at the sitting form before her. He had not moved an inch, eyes still looking blankly into the air. She decided to make the first move and sat at the foot of the bed, giving Jason some space. When he did not respond, she inched closer, and placed a hand lightly on his, whispering out "Jason?"

The reaction was subtle, but pointed. She felt his muscles tense, as if responding to a threat, and his eyes immediately locked onto hers. Liza was frightened by the response, but did not move. After a few seconds, his gaze slid back down, returning to their vacant expression. Liza took the opportunity before her, "Jason, what's wrong? Please, can you talk to me? I just want to hear you speak. Please."

After a minute, it seemed her plea would go unanswered. Some part of her was not surprised. After all, every attempt to talk to him in the cave was turned down, why not this as well? Just as she started to turn and leave, however, she felt the hand under hers slowly move on top of it, holding her in place. Liza looked back to Jason, and though he still looked down, his eyes were clear once more.

"Who am I? What am I, Liza? All this time, I've been trying to figure it out. Citra, she told me I was a warrior, a Rakyat. One whose decision to kill meant that the other man deserved to die." He then looked up, searching Liza's face for answers. "I remember talking with Daisy. I told her that killing those guys, those pirates? It felt like winning, like the world was all about me. And after Keith told me Riley was dead, I was ready to make them all suffer the same fate."

Liza remembered that instance. After Keith had returned, and Jason heard of Riley's supposed death, he had lost any semblance of reasoning. It scared her, but she was not willing to stand in his way. He had become someone dangerous, and she was frightened. But now, here, Liza saw that he was just as frightened as her. Scared of losing himself, of losing a sense of just who he was again.

She saw Jason struggle to open his mouth, but words started to spill out, "I've killed so many people I've lost count. I can't come back from this. I'm a monster." Jason's teeth began to clench together as he said these things. "I can feel the anger inside of me-"

Liza leaned forward and embraced him, circling her arms around Jason's form, holding him tight against her. She felt him tense up again, and then start to relax at her touch. And then, he did the one thing she would have never expected; she felt a dampness against her shirt. Jason was crying. Whether out of pain, or frustration, or grief, she did not know. But in that moment, it did not matter. For his tears were soon joined by hers.

They continued in this way for a time, until both of them had their breathing even out. Liza was the first to speak, "Please, listen to me. I don't know about the islands. I don't know about the Rakyat, these tattoos, or that woman back at the temple." Liza placed her hands on both sides of Jason's face, turning his gaze up into hers. "But I do know this; you are Jason Brody. You saved us from those pirates. Daisy, Oliver, Keith, Riley. Me. You are the reason we are here in this boat, heading back home. I don't know anything about the path you are walking down, but I know this. At that temple, you could have chosen to end my life, kill all of us. After all, what would have been one or two more? But you chose to let us live. You chose to stop the killing. You chose your path."

At this, Liza leaned forward, and lightly touched her forehead to Jason's. "I do not know where your path may lead you, but I promise to try and help you wherever it may lead."

Jason remained silent for a moment, before pressing his forehead forward as well to match Liza's action. "Do you really think there is more to me than a warrior? Than a monster? That I can be better than, than this?"

"Of course I do. It wasn't rage or hatred that drove you to save us. Your caring heart, your passion to protect us, that is what brought you through those trials to help us." At this, Liza leaned farther in and placed a light, almost chaste kiss upon his lips. "That's the reason why I love you."

Jason sat there for a moment, seeming to roll these new thoughts through his mind. Then he slowly leaned forward and returned the kiss to Liza. After the sign of affection, he leaned back some, visibly relaxing. "Thank you, Liza. For everything." He then pulled her into his embrace, and she allowed him to relaxing against his chest. The steady rocking of the boat on the waves started to lull her to sleep. And just before she fell asleep, she heard Jason say one thing, making her lips form a smile.

"I love you too."

**I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review, all constructive criticism is appreciated!**


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